Can a simple, cheap part of equipment like your golf give you extra yards? Here’s what the research says.
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Are you looking for get the distance? Let’s consider some steps you can take. You can improve your swinging. You can Update your equipment. You can increase your strength and flexibility.
All reasonable approaches. But each requires an investment of time, money or a combination of both.
Can there be an easier and cheaper way to go? It turns out that there is. You can switch to… right.
We do not mean the right “box”. We mean the right tee. As in, those small pins on which you support your ball. Believe it or not, research shows that they can affect how far you hit your ball.
“Tees matter,” said Gene Parente, the founder of the Robot Laboratories and the former Golf Magazine’s annual club. “I know he will have Eyerolls but listen to me.”
Parente once looked at the matter. In 2021, he told Golf.com what his research had revealed: that certain players can earn 2 to 4 yards on their drives simply using the right Tee.
This is a lot of claim. And requires a context. According to parent research, if you stay taking advantage of using the right tee depends on your attack angle.
After all, Parente said it was about friction. For players who hit the ball – also known as a positive angle of the attack – friction is not a factor. The shooting struck that way they were easily risen without creating any rubbing between the ball and tee. But for players who hit the ball with their driver (Most amateurs do that), it’s a different story. The ball makes contact with the front edge of the cup box as it starts. That contact produces rotation, which can reduce distance.
Much distance? No. But if you admit that golf is an inch game, every little matters.
Then the question is: which is the right tee?
As an agnostic brand tester, Parente was unable to name names. But he suggested to try the “Prongs” teat at the top, compared to the shallow bowls on which you rest the ball. Minimizing contact between tee and ball also minimizes friction.
Of course, even in the best case scenario, you will not see dramatic distant benefits changing the way you connect your ball: 2 to 4 yards is nothing, but not too much. Moreover, there are other considerations when it comes to buying dishes, including price, aesthetics (some tee are simply better than others) and environmental impact (some tees biodegrades faster than others).
Tea passing, in short, may not be worth it for you.
